Photolithography is a technique by which a pattern on a photomask is projected through a lens onto a photoresist layer on a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate. After a subsequent development cycle the pattern on the photomask is transferred to the photoresist layer. Conventional photolithography is unable to produce the smallest of the photoresist images sizes that current integrated circuit designs call for. Immersion lithography utilizes an immersion fluid placed between the lens and the photoresist layer. This increases the numerical aperture of the exposure system and improves depth of focus and resolution. However, immersion photolithography has been found to have defect generation mechanisms not found in conventional lithography. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for improved immersion lithography processes that overcome immersion lithography related defect mechanisms.